2024-01-13 16:00:06
The Paris Mint manufactured 27 million coins, with new effigies and designs, without the prior approval of the European Commission, whose clearance of conformity is essential for the injection of this mass into the money market. This led to its destruction causing a loss of almost a million euros.
The Monnaie de Paris is a public body responsible for minting the European currency in France. But for any new thing to be introduced, the planned coins are first subject to approval by the European Commission before launching production and putting them into circulation. However, according to information from The letterthe Paris Mint launched the production of 27 million coins of 10, 20 and 50 centimes without receiving the green light from the said commission.
The eagerness of the CEO of Monnaie de Paris
The source mentions a decision by the establishment’s CEO Marc Schwartz who, it seems, was driven by the temptation to present the new design of the rooms to the Minister of the Economy visiting the establishment on the 7th. last December. To be there, the workers at the Monnaie de Paris were even forced to do “the “three-eights”, four days in a row at the end of November”before having “the return of DG ECFIN (economic and financial affairs) of the European Commission, which has the upper hand over the validation of euro coins and notes”.
Damage of 700,000 to 1.2 million euros
This return, arriving on December 1, 2023, one week before Bruno Le Maire’s visit, turned out to be negative, since the new French design was refused by Europe for “stars that are difficult to read on the face representing the European continent. An unforgivable affront regarding the symbol of the European Union! », explains the source. The Paris Mint then had to destroy the 27 million coins to remint them again. An operation whose cost is estimated between 700,000 and 1.2 million euros on the budget of the public establishment.
The confession of the Paris Mint
Contacted by TF1 info, Monnaie de Paris explains itself, while admitting “taking a risk” of the establishment : “the three drawings were submitted to the President of the Republic in spring 2023 then validated by Bercy at the end of August”. And to add: “as the Paris Mint was committed to making the new coins available to the State at the beginning of 2024, production had to begin in November, before official validation from the European Commission. It was a risk on our part. Knowing that it’s something we’re used to doing, we didn’t think we’d get negative feedback (…) To meet the deadline, we asked the teams to do three shifts, but it wasn’t linked at the arrival of Bruno Le Maire ». The latter also specifies that the rejected design has been corrected “in less than 72 hours”, and the European Commission already validated the new one on December 21. Production thus resumed at the beginning of January.
Losses assumed by Monnaie de Paris and not by the taxpayer
« The pieces with the drawing challenged by the European Commission has not been destroyed. All the metal was remelted and therefore recycled,” assures the spokesperson for the Monnaie de Paris to TF1 info, without minimizing the cost of the error which “ represents less than 2% of the annual production of the Monnaie de Paris”. It’s here ” a cost, whatever it may be, which is borne by the Monnaie de Paris and not by the taxpayer. La Monnaie de Paris is a public establishment of an industrial and commercial nature which is self-financing. he clarified.
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